I don’t really care what else he’s done. I don’t care if he’s had a recurring role on Heroes or played the Headless Horseman in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. He was the martial arts expert and actor behind Darth Maul, the coolest villain to turn up onscreen in a long time. So whether or not I’m a huge fan of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in all its dippy Jar Jar Binks glory, I loved watching any scene with Ray Park as he had portrayed Darth Maul.
My friend Bob had already obtained an autographed photo of Ray Park for me in the mid-2000’s, which he had boldly signed and I now counted as a personal favorite Star Wars relic, but I hadn’t yet got the chance to meet him. The chance finally came around on Saturday, August 13, 2011, when he was a guest at the Wizard’s World Comic Con in Chicago, Illinois. But it wasn’t all that easy…
When I first caught sight of his table at the show, Ray Park wasn’t at it. Later on, I saw him arriving and saw no other fans around, so I approached. The first thing I saw him do was irritably take down the sign that announced the time of his formal portrait session. I was hoping beyond hope that I wasn’t going to have to go that route with getting a picture. I showed him the signed picture I had of him, to which he remarked (in a friendly way), “yeah, but you didn’t buy that today.”
Then I noticed that there was a huge line that had formed around the corner – fans that had been waiting a long time for him. He said that I’d have to get in line and then get a picture with him as I ‘bought something’. Throughout the day, I kept checking back and the line never got any shorter.
By the end of the day, I was so exhausted, I was just ready to leave and give up on getting my photo with Ray Park, hoping that he’d one day return to another show at some point. But then I wised up and knew how much I’d regret missing the chance if it never came around again, so I got in the line and waited about 30 minutes.
When I got up to him, he remembered me immediately. I joked that it had taken all day to get through his line. Apparently by this time he had forgotten the caveat that I’d have to ‘buy something’ to get a photo, and he put forth some nice effort to pose with me from across the table. Although it wasn’t done on purpose by my friend Jason who was taking the picture, you can see Peter Mayhew who had portrayed Chewbacca just over my shoulder.
Ray Park was a nice guy after all. Maybe not as cool looking as his character, but infinitely nicer. Prepare to become one with the Force, Jedi.
This concludes the celebrity encounters form the 2011 Wizard World Comic Con. Return to the original posting here…
That is Freakin’ awesome!! You’ll have to tell me if you are planning more Star Wars encounters. I’d gladly pay for an autograph of any character (except maybe JarJar Binks…).
Aaron
February 22nd, 2012
Very freakin’ cool!
Natalie
September 28th, 2012